Sponsorship
Register as a sponsor
Download the Registration – Agreement here and send them filled in and signed to bertiehendriks@tiscali.nl.
Donations
Donations can be made on account number NL58 TRIO 0198566433 of the Triodos Bank on the name of Kameroen Werkt! Please mention ‘sponsorship children Gambia’.
The BIC code of the Triodos bank is TRIONL2U
Criteria.
Sponsored children are chosen by the head of the Bymyra Bilingual School, Nema Su Layout P.O. Box 3113, Serekunda, The Gambia. Tel. (220) 9536757 / 7436757
- Single parents who are divorced or the partner has passed away.
- Parents who lost their job and can’t continue paying for the school fees.
- Sick and hospitalized parents without income.
- Parents who have more than 3 children and are having problem to meet up with the school fees
Or:
Students who are doing extremely well and their parents cannot continue to pay their school fees
Costs.
You sponsor a child during a period of 5 years.
There are two possibilities.
- You sponsor all costs: school-fees and extra costs for books, uniforms, excursions …. 1900 euro (380 euro a year)
- Or you only pay the school-fees. 950 euro (190 euro a year) The parents have to pay the extra costs. (The good thing is that parents will feel more connected and responsible for their child to go to school. But in some cases, the parents just cannot even pay the extra costs.)
Memorandum of understanding between the school and the sponsors
- Sponsors will be given yearly reports regarding children’s academic performance and participation in school.
- School will have a link with the parent and will be ready to give the sponsor any information about the child that is needed.
- If the sponsor wishes he or she can make an appointment to talk directly to the child on the WhatsApp of the school.
- Sponsors are free to visit the school anytime during working hours.
Information or/and sign up.
bertiehendriks@tiscali.nl
All costs of a 5-year sponsorship can be deducted from the tax in the Netherlands since KameroenWerkt is a ANBI
Tax deduction in other countries
Kameroen Werkt has the ANBI status. It means that donations given by people from the Netherlands can be deducted on their tax It does not mean that donations from other countries are also deductible for the donor in a similar way. You have to look at the tax regulations in the country concerned.
In Europe you have the freedom of capital. If you make a donation to a Dutch ANBI foundation from another European country, there is a greater chance that you will be entitled to a gift tax deduction. You should also look at the regulations of the country concerned. A practical solution can be to find a charity in your own country where you are entitled to a deduction for gifts and thus agree that they will pay the donation (within their objectives) to the Dutch ANBI foundation.
An alternative is to use Transnational Giving Europe (TGE) TGE is a European network of charities that facilitates deductible donations to European organizations.
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General information
The Bymyra Bilingual School is a private school in Sukuta Gambia, started in 2012 with 3 students, outside at a table *. Now 152 students between the ages of 3 and 13 can go. Unlike almost all other schools in The Gambia, the school is well-known for its modern education and for its head, Ida Ndow **. Because of the good reputation of the school and the good results of the school leavers, more and more students are registering. Next year the number of students will increase to 200. The following years to 350 students between the ages of 3 – 16 years.
*See video 1 Interview Ida Ndow: Development Bymyra Bilingual School 2011 – 2019.
**See video 2 Short interview Ida Ndow of the Bymyra Bilingual School.
Opportunities
Education is the basic condition for realizing new opportunities. A problem is that not all Gambian children receive an education. Another perhaps even bigger problem is that the existing Gambian education is poor. Resources and good, inspired teachers are missing and the money for education, which often comes to the Gambia via foreign powers, disappears into the pockets of administrators.
The Bymyra Bilingual School is located in Sukuta, a poor area on the west coast of The Gambia. There are several schools in Sukuta, but the quality of education is very poor. The Bymyra Bilingual school is an exception. Thanks to the energetic and enthusiastic efforts of Ida Ndow, head of the school, a school has been built in 7 years’ time with good classrooms, good sanitary facilities, a canteen where children can get food and a clean environment. A close team of teachers provides high-quality education in which the child is central and there is attention for both theory and practice. Parents are actively involved in education, unique in The Gambia. The school has a clear vision *** on education and the development of a child living in The Gambia.
*** See video 3 ‘Vision and practice’ part 1 and video 4 ‘Vision and practice’, part 2
With the help of our CameroonWerkt foundation (KW), the school now has computers, digi-boards, projectors and good school furniture. With the help of friends, KW has raised 80.000 euro to help the school building 8 new classrooms, a science lab, an ‘art and crafts’ room, a library, a canteen and a multifunctional room. In September it will be ready.
Despite all these possibilities that the school offers, the school fees are relatively low.
Example school
The Bymyra Bilingual School wants to be an exemplary school where up to 350 students can go in the future. An example school can give a powerful boost to the education of the Gambia as a whole. It is crucial for the development of African countries such as The Gambia and their affiliation with the rest of the world that examples of good and modern education come.
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Historie supporting Gambian children to go to school
2017
We have decided to continue the ‘support going to school’ project in much the same form as with Cedel in Cameroon. Bertie and Ida set up the conditions for parents and students if they want to join up with the ‘support going to school’ project
We start with 5 poor but promising children. They are allowed to go to school for 5 years and CameroonWorks pays their school fees. We also decided that we support the artists’ village of the deceased artist Etu Ndow: TunbungVillage Etu.
In December 2017 Bertie has a fantastic sports game day and led placed on the beach and a visit to the 150 pupils Tunbung Village where the students in groups have painted artwork for their class. The day was the finest in the history of the school, says Ida.
Videos
Furthermore, there have been discussions with the parents of the students supported by KW. For some parents expressed that, if they do not actively contribute to the school, they will hold KW financial support. In September this matter decided. When some parents are doing fine.
Video 1. Talk with parents about conditions KW
2018
In December 2018, Bertie visited the Gambia to see how compliance parents are with the requirements of KW sets for them (see video 1). The result was extremely encouraging. All parents have complied with the agreements.
2019
In 2019, we created sponsorship for five additional students to go to school for the next five years.
In December, Bertie went to The Gambia and had a meeting with all the parents of the 10 children who enjoy sponsoring. There is a big commitment spoken to all of the terms and conditions that KW is for the parents to meet. We are happy with the project so far.
2020
In the first half on 2020 we increased the number of sponsored children to 33, in de second half to 61.
